Mr Morrison said on Friday that moving hotel quarantine to regional areas would only create âanother set of risks. Youâve got transfer risks. Youâve got a workforce that you have to have in place in those situations. Youâre further away from major, big hospitals.â
But Professor Toole said the federal government should consider building regional quarantine facilities, and Victorian locations could include Avalon Airport, Ballarat and Bendigo. He warned this would be a time-consuming and expensive exercise.
âWeâre not China, we canât build these things in three days, it takes months.â
In the meantime, he said, the priority should be on improving hotel quarantine. He urged authorities to engage with occupational hygienists and ventilation engineers to better understand how air moved in hotels, and said daily COVID-19 tests should also be considered for guests. Guests are currently tested on day three and day 11 of their 14-day stay.